I expect that if I was on the way "up" the car range rather than "down" the other side, I would look at the Caliber a bit differently. What I mean by that is this forum is populated by a fair number of younger people, for whom the Caliber is early on their list of cars, and in that I can see it as a relatively inexpensive vehicle that offers unique styling, some interesting options and tricks, and hopefully some longevity. My wife and I are at the other end of the stream, since I just retired and we decided to downsize from a Grand Caravan AWD (a rather different vehicle from the Caliber!).
I had vehicles equivalent to the Caliber--- a nice little gold Renault Encore, a Mustang, a Corolla (and even a Falcon Futura, and a Corvair!), but I got a bit used to some larger cars when the kids came along, and ran through a couple of Torinos, a couple of Taurus's, an Intrepid, and a couple of Caravans. Going to the Caliber was a move that seemed good at the time, and we do like some aspects of the vehicle, but we're not sure we would do it again if time reversed.
You get what you pay for in most situations, and we paid about $20,000 CDN for our Caliber. Our last Caravan when new rang in at about $44,000 CDN, and we were a bit naive to feel that the two would have a lot in common other than four wheels. We have the SXT with PW, PL, CVT and 2.0, cruise, and added the remote start.
The good: I like the Caliber styling, although part of that leads to one of the problems. I like the CVT, although I fear it for longevity and $$$.
I like the large wheels (17"... largest of any car we've owned, although I'll feel that in a month when i get snow tires for it.... $880 for 4 Michelin X-Ice).
I like the technology that has gone into it, like the "world" engine and the CVT, developments with other car companies that generally have more of a reputation for reliability than Dodge (although our Caravans served us well).
The gas mileage is good, getting about 35 mpg Cdn, which would be about 28 on the US gallon. Not bad when you are coming from an AWD wagon that gave us 19.6 on the CDN gallon.
The hatchback is nice and convenient, though thankfully we are past the kids at university stage.... the last Caravan had some kind of self-levelling suspension and could take an unbelievable load. Headlights very good on Caliber.
The bad: The seats are terrible... worst support and back care we've ever had. We added two Obus seat rests that add a little more lower back support.
Rear vision is terrible... a good deal of that is the styling down into the small rear window, and the large rear pillars.
Road noise is terrible.... you hear every surface mark. For a month they had ground our main highway down prior to paving, and travelling about 8 miles on that was misery. I preferred to take my F-150 truck for the quiet. In general there seems to be little noise padding in the vehicle. Try closing a door when a window is down or another door is open... worse tinny sound I've ever heard since my '72 Corolla.
Acceleration seems unpredictable.... sometimes there seems to be something there when you put your foot down, other times there is a lot of noise but not a lot of moving.
Ride suffers from the size of the car, but this is a physics thing to a large extent. If you have a -3000 lb vehicle, you can only respond so much with springs and shocks in comparison to a 4000+ vehicle. A heavier vehicle has more inertia that keeps it quiet while the suspension deals with the bumps. The Caliber isn't bad for a small vehicle, but it's a small vehicle.
Entry is tricky depending on seat height. I'd like the seat higher, but when you jack it up, you have to make a mandatory head duck to get below the window top... and I'm relatively short.... I don't know how a 6' fellow would make out with a Caliber.
Cup holders are not ideal... funbling down between the seats for your coffee, which is just barely poking out of the holder. I like them up and in view.
So........ bottom line, would I buy another? Probably not, I think if I was after gas mileage I'd go for the Honda Civic, which I had preferred (but my wife liked the Caliber). Other than that I would probably have moved up the line into a slightly larger car, Accord if we could afford it, or the Sebring if we stayed with the Dodge line.
But you guys who love the Caliber--- have fun!
I had vehicles equivalent to the Caliber--- a nice little gold Renault Encore, a Mustang, a Corolla (and even a Falcon Futura, and a Corvair!), but I got a bit used to some larger cars when the kids came along, and ran through a couple of Torinos, a couple of Taurus's, an Intrepid, and a couple of Caravans. Going to the Caliber was a move that seemed good at the time, and we do like some aspects of the vehicle, but we're not sure we would do it again if time reversed.
You get what you pay for in most situations, and we paid about $20,000 CDN for our Caliber. Our last Caravan when new rang in at about $44,000 CDN, and we were a bit naive to feel that the two would have a lot in common other than four wheels. We have the SXT with PW, PL, CVT and 2.0, cruise, and added the remote start.
The good: I like the Caliber styling, although part of that leads to one of the problems. I like the CVT, although I fear it for longevity and $$$.
I like the large wheels (17"... largest of any car we've owned, although I'll feel that in a month when i get snow tires for it.... $880 for 4 Michelin X-Ice).
I like the technology that has gone into it, like the "world" engine and the CVT, developments with other car companies that generally have more of a reputation for reliability than Dodge (although our Caravans served us well).
The gas mileage is good, getting about 35 mpg Cdn, which would be about 28 on the US gallon. Not bad when you are coming from an AWD wagon that gave us 19.6 on the CDN gallon.
The hatchback is nice and convenient, though thankfully we are past the kids at university stage.... the last Caravan had some kind of self-levelling suspension and could take an unbelievable load. Headlights very good on Caliber.
The bad: The seats are terrible... worst support and back care we've ever had. We added two Obus seat rests that add a little more lower back support.
Rear vision is terrible... a good deal of that is the styling down into the small rear window, and the large rear pillars.
Road noise is terrible.... you hear every surface mark. For a month they had ground our main highway down prior to paving, and travelling about 8 miles on that was misery. I preferred to take my F-150 truck for the quiet. In general there seems to be little noise padding in the vehicle. Try closing a door when a window is down or another door is open... worse tinny sound I've ever heard since my '72 Corolla.
Acceleration seems unpredictable.... sometimes there seems to be something there when you put your foot down, other times there is a lot of noise but not a lot of moving.
Ride suffers from the size of the car, but this is a physics thing to a large extent. If you have a -3000 lb vehicle, you can only respond so much with springs and shocks in comparison to a 4000+ vehicle. A heavier vehicle has more inertia that keeps it quiet while the suspension deals with the bumps. The Caliber isn't bad for a small vehicle, but it's a small vehicle.
Entry is tricky depending on seat height. I'd like the seat higher, but when you jack it up, you have to make a mandatory head duck to get below the window top... and I'm relatively short.... I don't know how a 6' fellow would make out with a Caliber.
Cup holders are not ideal... funbling down between the seats for your coffee, which is just barely poking out of the holder. I like them up and in view.
So........ bottom line, would I buy another? Probably not, I think if I was after gas mileage I'd go for the Honda Civic, which I had preferred (but my wife liked the Caliber). Other than that I would probably have moved up the line into a slightly larger car, Accord if we could afford it, or the Sebring if we stayed with the Dodge line.
But you guys who love the Caliber--- have fun!